


Aftershocks

by Xochiquetzl



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Episode Related, Episode Tag, Episode: s01e13 Fire and Water, First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-17 22:06:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11860575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xochiquetzl/pseuds/Xochiquetzl
Summary: Jack and Daniel deal with the emotional fallout of "Fire and Water."





	Aftershocks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BADFalcon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BADFalcon/gifts).



> Thanks to Princess of Geeks for the beta!

Colorado Springs rolled past Jack's passenger window. 

Jack had blessedly turned off the classic rock that had been blaring when he turned on the truck. Daniel had such a headache. Nem and his device, most likely. He needed a nap. Dr. Fraiser said that he wasn't damaged; hopefully she was right. Either way, he wasn't cleared to drive yet, so....

Jack stopped the truck in front of his building, pulling into a parking space on the brick-fronted side. "Curbside service," he said, sounding cheerful. "Want me to walk you up?"

"I, um," Daniel said. "Thank you, but no. I just want to sleep."

"I don't have to come in," Jack said. "But Doc Fraiser would probably prefer I at least walked you to your door." 

"Okay," Daniel sighed. 

Jack turned the truck off, and the two of them walked inside and over to the elevator. They pressed the button for the second floor. There was a companionable silence during which Daniel leaned back against the elevator wall and closed his eyes. 

When the elevator doors opened with a _ding_ , he opened his eyes. Jack was watching him, looking concerned. He smiled, as reassuring as he could manage, and walked over to the door and unlocked it. 

He opened the door, smiled, waved, and went inside. Jack never left the elevator. He heard the elevator doors close as he shut his front door. 

Contrary to what Jack and Sam had implied, they hadn't really completely packed up his apartment. They'd clearly gone in and _touched_ things--the journals and the Jackal and the Hound game board were slightly off how he usually kept them--but, well. Daniel supposed that it was only to be expected, what with them thinking he was dead and all. At least they'd fed his fish? Or so he assumed from the lack of fishy corpses floating belly up. He spared a moment of gratitude to the unknown fish feeder and dropped a few more flakes into the tank. The bubbly noise was reassuring, somehow, but also a little threatening. He hoped the latter impression would fade. 

The photo of himself on a camel in Egypt on the stone mantlepiece was moved, too. He could see the dust imprint of where it had been before. 

He wandered back past the red-painted walls to his bedroom, lay down on his bed fully clothed, and was almost immediately asleep. 

* * *

Jack didn't want to be clingy or annoying, but he also didn't want to let Daniel out of his sight. The former overruled the latter, so Jack didn't get off the elevator. He waited for Daniel to go into his apartment, then pushed the button for the first floor. The elevator was that kind of industrial linoleum aesthetic. He wasn't sure he was a fan. It also rumbled a little. 

He hadn't felt so protective of Daniel since he'd seen his criminal background check, complete with crime victim evidence photos of a gaybashing when he was a freshman in college. He'd looked twelve, and was photographed shirtless to better show the bruising. Jack shuddered at the memory and supposed that getting a team member back after holding a funeral for them would do that to a CO. 

Jack walked out to his black pickup truck, started it, and headed home. He didn't turn on the radio or CD. He usually liked music when he drove, but he hadn't wanted to aggravate Daniel's headache. And now, he wanted silence for his thoughts. 

On second thought, no, this wasn't a CO reaction at all. Well. Partly. Maybe. But this was more. He still needed to pay back George for the car window he'd smashed in. 

This was trauma. Not just the whole false memory thing--and how much did it freak him the fuck out to think of the walking, talking squid messing with the inside of his head?--although that was bad enough. No. It was losing Daniel. Getting him back didn't make the trauma go away. You'd think it would. Or maybe you wouldn't. Maybe you're smarter about that sort of thing than you think you are. 

Maybe he should stop talking to himself in the second person. _Now_ that _was a Danielesque observation_ , he noted. Although Daniel hadn't been as Danielesque since he'd gotten back. Well. Since Sha're was taken, to be honest.

Daniel was sleeping it off, and he should, too. And then, perhaps, later, after, he could invite Daniel over for something innocuous. Watching a football game. Did Daniel like football? He'd never asked. The stereotype said no, but Daniel was a man who violated stereotypes. 

Jack pulled into his driveway, turned off the car, walked up past the rock garden, went into the house, and immediately went to the refrigerator and opened a beer. 

Daniel. They'd gotten Daniel back. 

* * *

When Daniel woke up the next morning, he yawned, stretched, and pondered whether or not he wanted to change clothes. He blinked up at the golden brown walls. They'd reminded him of Abydos when he picked the place. He could hear some morning traffic outside, but it was a soothing sound. 

What he wanted was coffee. He wondered idly how much of his headache was Nem and how much was caffeine withdrawal, come to think of it. He'd had such a migraine right after Jack had left him on Abydos. Sha're had been dismayed by his explanation of addiction and withdrawal, and would have disapproved of his immediate re-addiction upon returning to Earth. His explanations that caffeine was a harmless drug that kept people awake and helped them concentrate hadn't impressed her at all. He smiled a little, both nostalgic and sad. 

There was a coffee shop down the street that served really good coffee. He should go there. 

He grabbed his cell phone, unplugging it from the charger in the kitchen, on the way out. It had the little message icon on it, but he didn't feel like checking his voicemail right then. He shoved the phone into his pocket, grabbed his wallet, sunglasses, and keys, and left. 

He walked down the street, putting on his sunglasses, and enjoyed being on dry land. It was only a couple of blocks, and he probably would have walked even if he hadn't left his car on base. To be honest, the proximity had been a selling point for the apartment. And there it was, Urban Steam. He went inside and walked up to the counter, where he ordered a cappuccino, then waited for his coffee. He pulled out his phone and pressed the voicemail button.

"Hey, Dannyboy." Jack. "If you're feeling better, I was thinking that maybe you'd like to come over and watch the game. You like football, right? Anyway. Call me. I'm open to alternate suggestions."

They called his name, and he got his cappuccino and went to go sit near the window--big windows all the way around, and wooden tables. Football? Um. He'd been more the French club type in school. Maybe he could fake it. How hard could it be? 

Yes, the cappuccino was definitely helping. He ordered the waffles with nutella, caramel, and chocolate--ridiculous, really, but he felt like he owed himself something tasty after Nem's "nourishment." Ugh! He was an adventurous eater--well, you had to be in his line of work--but he had the sneaking suspicion that Nem had been feeding him the equivalent of Purina Human Chow. 

By the time he finished breakfast, he almost felt healthy again. Just a little tired. He ordered the Turkish coffee in hopes that the added caffeine would do the trick, and dialed Jack's number. 

* * *

Jack had had to come pick him up, because his car was still on base, but Daniel didn't care. He was still a little tired. Maybe he'd be up for getting his car tomorrow. 

Jack's living room had a whole wall of that natural stone thing that was popular in Colorado Springs, and also a huge fireplace. One stepped down into the living room and could look back through an open plan to a dining area and bright yellow kitchen. There were curtained windows looking over a garden in the back. The sofa was a neutral gray that looked like it wouldn't show dirt. There was also a stereo. 

Jack had popped a lot of popcorn--there was a huge bowl of it--and grilled some hamburgers and hot dogs, lying on a plate on the coffee table, with condiments. There was also beer in a big cooler next to the couch. All that grilled meat smelled a little like Abydos for a moment, but it wasn't spicy enough. 

"You don't want to walk to the kitchen to get beer?" Daniel asked, laughing. 

"It's _traditional_ ," Jack said. "Football beer tastes better out of a cooler."

"If you say so," Daniel said, but when Jack handed him one with an opener he took it and opened it. He placed the top on the corner of the coffee table, since Jack hadn't provided a trash bag. 

The game itself was boring, but Jack would yell and throw popcorn at the screen when the other team scored, and shout happily and punch the air when his team scored, so that was actually entertaining. Daniel decided to think of the whole thing as an anthropologist observing a cultural ritual, which, of course, meant that he should really get into the spirit and throw popcorn himself. But he ate the popcorn, too, so Jack had to go pop some more during a commercial break. 

"Are you having fun?" Jack called over the noise of the popcorn popper.

"Yes," Daniel said. And he was. "It's an interesting tribal totemic conflict, where the two opposing teams represent symbolic warfare between two cities..."

Jack came back with more popcorn, and said, "I think what you're trying to say is that Dallas sucks and Denver rules." 

Daniel felt himself grinning, and Jack sat down next to him and pushed his glasses back into place. "You're about to lose these."

Well. That was interesting. Grooming rituals were a part of bonding, although in North American cultures it was usually the women who groomed each other. Nevertheless, it was clearly a friendly gesture, so Daniel went with it and grabbed a handful of popcorn. "Hand me another beer?"

Jack pulled a beer out of the cooler, opened it, and handed it to him. 

"Thanks," Daniel said. "We've kind of made a mess of your living room." 

Jack made a _pfft_ noise. "Want another hot dog or burger?"

"No thank you," Daniel said. "I should probably stop eating the popcorn, but..." He shrugged. 

The referee made a gesture that Jack apparently didn't agree with, because he shouted "Boo!" and threw more popcorn at the screen. Daniel leaned back and rested his head against the wall and sighed.

"You okay?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Daniel said. "Just a little tired. I didn't sleep well. Nem gave me this retractable shelf to sleep on. It looked a little like a plexiglass morgue drawer, to be honest."

"Jesus," Jack said. 

"He didn't know," Daniel said. "He didn't have any reason to know my cultural associations. But I had trouble sleeping on it." 

"I can't imagine why," Jack said. 

"The beer's probably not helping," Daniel said, and took another sip. "But since I have orders to rest, anything that puts me to sleep is probably good." 

"You're actually listening to Doc Fraiser?" Jack said. "You must be sick."

"Of course I am." Daniel scratched his nose. "You're the one who doesn't listen to her, not me." 

"I listen to her," Jack said. "I just don't do what she tells me to do. Napoleonic power monger." 

Daniel laughed, but it was a soft, tired laugh. He relaxed against the back of the couch and closed his eyes, just for a moment.

The next thing he realized, he had his head on Jack's shoulder. His beer was on the coffee table, and Jack's arm was around him. "Sorry," he said, trying to sit up. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Jack said. "You want to sack out in my guest room?" 

"Okay," Daniel mumbled. 

They stood, and Jack walked him back to a small, dark room with a bed and a nightstand. "Bathroom is just down the hall," Jack said. He pulled down the sheets. 

Daniel sat heavily on the bed and fumbled with his shoes. Jack tugged them off, then pulled Daniel's shirt off over his head and placed it at the foot of the bed. Daniel pulled off his jeans and tossed them on the foot of the bed, too--they'd hit the base showers together, after all, so the sight of his boxers was hardly shocking. Also he might be a little tipsy. Jack tucked him into bed, removing Daniel's glasses and placing them on the nightstand. "Good night."

"Night," Daniel mumbled, and Jack turned out the light. 

* * *

Jack swept the popcorn into a dustpan and decided that Daniel falling asleep with his head on his shoulder had been the single most... most Daniel thing ever. Which was a good thing. He dumped the popcorn into a waiting paper bag and started sweeping again.

He was treading on dangerous ground. He just didn't care.

Jack considered himself straight, but he wasn't the straightest straight guy who'd ever lived. He'd noticed men before. On rare occasions. But he'd wanted to join the Air Force almost his entire life, and you know, court martial, don't ask don't tell, shit like that, and he _loved_ women. So he'd never really considered on actually doing something about the very rare guy turning his crank. 

But this. This was different. _Yeah_ , some part of his brain muttered. _It's stupider. He's not just a guy, he's a member of your team._ He mentally flipped his brain the bird. 

He dumped another dustpan full of popcorn into the paper bag and started sweeping again. He considered running the vacuum, but the popcorn was too big and the vacuum was too noisy. He'd wake Daniel. 

This was different because Daniel was his best friend. This wasn't just his libido saying, _Hmm, that's interesting_ , this was....

He'd thought he'd lost Daniel. It had been unbearable. He'd wanted to retire. 

He shouldn't do anything about it. Just because Daniel had been gaybashed didn't mean that he was into Jack, or even that he was really gay or bi or whatever. It only meant that a bunch of fucking no-neck idiots had _thought_ he was gay. And that wasn't really a conversation he felt comfortable having, under the circumstances: _Hey, Danny, I know you're married, but do you also like guys?_

No. No, it was far better to just not have that conversation. 

He'd have a nice, long heart-to-heart with his dick, and explain things like his career and his friendship with Daniel. Yeah.

He closed the drapes, in case Daniel came wandering out in his underwear, and threw away the bag of popcorn. He took the cooler of beer back up to the kitchen, put the beers in the fridge, and dumped the ice in the sink. He put leftover hot dogs and hamburgers in the fridge, too. 

And then he lay on the couch. Heart-to-heart time.

* * *

When Daniel woke up, something made him think it was evening. He yawned, stretched, and reached for his glasses. His cell phone said it was 6pm. He'd probably missed the end of the game, but that was okay. He didn't actually care about it. He regretted Jack watching the end of it alone, but hopefully he'd enjoyed it by himself. 

He got dressed--except for the shoes and socks--and wandered out into the living room, which was clean. "I would have helped you clean if you'd waited." 

"Nah," Jack said. "You needed your sleep." 

There was an awkward silence for a moment.

"Want some dinner?" Jack asked.

"Yes," Daniel said, "but not if it involves shoes. Delivery?" 

"Yeahsureyoubetcha," Jack said. "Pizza? Chinese?"

"Chinese," Daniel said. "Do you have a menu?"

Jack wandered into the kitchen. There was a sound of a drawer opening. He returned with a menu. "Now you know the secret to how I keep my kitchen so clean." He winked.

"I figured it was an Air Force thing," Daniel said.

"That, and a married thing. Sara would have killed me if I trashed her kitchen." 

Daniel laughed. "Yeah, Sha're didn't like me making a mess, either." He suddenly wanted another beer, although he didn't ask.

Unlike Nem, he didn't have 4,000 years to wait to find out what happened to Sha're. She might still be around all that time later, what with the sarcophagus and all, but he'd be dust. 

Jack handed him the menu, silent, looking sympathetic. Damn it. He took it, and looked at the menu, not really seeing it. Then he took a deep breath and read. 

Life on Abydos had given him a taste for spicy food. He looked at the items with the extra chilis next to them first. 

"Maybe we should get three things, and share," Jack suggested. 

"Yeah," Daniel mumbled. "Do you like spicy?" 

"Yeah, but somehow I imagine you have my tolerance beat," Jack said. He sounded good natured about it.

"There's no refrigeration on Abydos," Daniel said. "Like a lot of cultures without refrigeration, they use a lot of spice to cover the taste of the meat starting to go bad."

"Ew," Jack said. 

Daniel shrugged. "It won't make you sick, and if you put enough spice on it it tastes fine." 

"Well," Jack said. "Order something as spicy as you like, and if I can't eat it it's all yours." 

They finally settled on Ma Po Tofu, Sesame Chicken, and Chicken Lo Mein. They turned on the television and channel surfed. They finally stopped on the history channel on ancient Egypt, and Daniel started arguing with the episode and explaining why they were wrong. Jack just looked amused.

When the doorbell rang, Jack paid before Daniel could even get out his wallet. "Don't worry about it," Jack said. 

"They do pay me, you know," Daniel said.

"I think I'm still feeling guilty for leaving you on that planet with squid boy," Jack said, setting the bag down on the coffee table. "Want a beer?" He walked over to the kitchen, turning his back before Daniel could say anything. 

"Sure, and don't," Daniel said. "It wasn't your fault. He altered your memory." 

"Yeah," Jack said, pulling two beers from the fridge. "I know." He returned with the beers, two plates, some forks and spoons, and set up the food on his coffee table. He let Daniel have first dibs on the lo mein. Then he filled his own plate. He took a bite of the Ma Po Tofu, and said, "Jesus." He took a big sip of beer. 

Daniel just laughed. It was almost spicy enough. If Abydos had taught him anything, cuisine-wise, it was that it was okay for food to hurt. Spicy enough would leave his mouth numb enough to do dental surgery. It smelled really good, though. This smell with the grilled meat smell earlier would have almost been like Abydos. 

He was surprisingly hungry, and they fell silent to attack their food. Jack, he noticed, only ate a little of the Ma Po Tofu stirred into something else. That made him smile. As promised, most of it was his. 

Finally, he put his plate on the coffee table and sat back.

"You okay?" Jack asked, his voice soft.

"Yeah," Daniel said. "Just tired." His voice sounded the same. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Jack said. 

They looked at each other for a while. Jack had really beautiful eyes. He'd always liked brown eyes. 

Jack was looking at his lips. He licked them. "Jack, have we had too much to drink?" 

"I don't feel drunk," Jack said. "Maybe a little buzzed."

The responsible thing to do would be to stop this. Jack could get court-martialed if they...

He was probably just jumping to conclusions. Jack was probably straight. A really tactile straight guy, but straight. 

A really tactile straight guy who was looking at his lips. 

The responsible thing to do would be...

He took a moment to think about how he didn't want to be responsible, about how all he wanted was to let Jack take care of him like he'd been doing all day. He closed his eyes for a moment. 

The first brush of Jack's lips was light and tentative. He bit back the urge to moan and left his eyes closed for a moment, then opened them. 

Jack looked worried. He smiled at him, reassuring.

And then they were kissing like they were starving, like they were dying of thirst and the other one was water. Jack was pressing him onto his back, lying on top of him, and the responsible thing to do would be to point out the possible career implications...

Jack was a grown man and could make his own decisions. 

Daniel wrapped his arms and legs around Jack and kissed him fiercely, pulling him closer. Jack moaned.

And then the excuses started. He didn't have 4000 years to wait for Sha're. Male infidelity wasn't as big a deal on Abydos as female infidelity, because paternity, so she wouldn't be that bothered. Sexual fidelity on Abydos was solely about establishing parentage and he and Jack wouldn't be having children so it wasn't a big deal. 

It was all bullshit. He was weak and needy and he wanted to. 

_God_ , he wanted to. 

He could feel Jack's erection pressing into his hip, and he squirmed against it. He pulled at Jack's shirt, pulled it off over his head. 

Jack paused for a moment to blink at him in surprise, and then pulled back enough to help Daniel pull his own shirt off. He ran gentle hands over Daniel's bare chest and arms.

Daniel straddled Jack's lap and reached for Jack's jeans buttons.

"I didn't expect you to be so..." Jack said, with an affectionate smile. 

Daniel paused and tilted his head. "What did you have in mind? Because I thought that, well."

"Yeah," Jack said. "I do. What do _you_ have in mind?"

"Have you ever done this before?" Daniel asked.

"No, have you?"

"Yes," Daniel said. "Maybe this isn't a good idea."

"It's a terrible idea," Jack said. "But I want to, anyway."

"Yeah," Daniel said. "Yeah. Me, too. I just... Look, I..."

"I never should have stopped to talk," Jack said, and kissed him again.

Daniel started to object again, but it was hard with Jack's tongue in his mouth. 

"Damn," Jack said, pulling away and taking a quick sip of beer. "That was some spicy shit." 

Daniel burst out laughing. And suddenly, it was okay, just like that. "I've done it all. You're the one who might be uncomfortable or awkward. You decide." 

"No pressure," Jack said, and laughed. "No laughing." He dropped to his knees, none-too-gracefully, in front of Daniel with a mutter about knees and cartilage. Then he unbuttoned and unzipped Daniel's jeans and pushed his underwear out of the way. 

The first touches of Jack's lips and tongue on his cock were shy, tentative, but Jack was a fast learner. Daniel ran his fingers through Jack's hair and moaned, murmuring encouragement like, "That's good," and "Oh, God." And then he lost coherence. Jack was... he was so... he couldn't believe that _Jack_ was... _God_ , yes. 

Jack swallowed, and washed it down with a sip of beer. "Not bad?"

"Really good," Daniel said. "Give me a minute." 

Jack smirked at him. Daniel considered whether he wanted to respond in kind, or offer to let Jack... no, that seemed too much, somehow. Maybe next time. 

He sank down onto the floor and reached for Jack's jeans.

"I see you still have cartilage in your knees," Jack observed. 

"No laughing," Daniel answered, and took Jack into his mouth. 

Tim, the guy he'd dated in college, had said he was good at this, but everyone's responses were different, after all, and he needed to learn Jack's. But he was determined to rock Jack's world. He listened for breathing changes, watched for faint movements of hip and stomach, in search of clues that would let him know that he was doing well. 

"Jesus," Jack groaned. 

Or, he could listen for that. He smirked a little and went back to what he was doing. 

Jack was so hot like this, with his eyes closed in ecstasy and his back arched, and his mouth open, and his hips trying not to thrust forward. And all too soon it was over, and Daniel swallowed and washed it down with a sip of beer like Jack had. 

He climbed back onto the couch and sat next to Jack, pulling him into his arms. 

"I should have known you'd be amazing," Jack murmured. "Passionate." 

He leaned his forehead against Jack's and wondered what happened now. Would there be a next time? Would they pretend this had never happened? Would Jack start avoiding him? If Sha're came back, would Jack be upset to be summarily kicked to the curb? _Would_ Jack be summarily kicked to the curb?

As if he were reading Daniel's mind, Jack said, "I'd told myself I wasn't going to do that, but my dick had other ideas."

"Yeah," Daniel said.

"I'm glad it did," Jack said. 

Daniel smiled.

Jack pulled back and looked into Daniel's eyes, brushing his hair back. "You still okay?"

"Yeah," Daniel said. He considered asking a bunch of questions, but it would probably be better to play it by ear. 

"You want to spend the night?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Daniel said. "I do." 


End file.
